A photo that captures the bravery of Iran’s women

By Jason Rezaian

*A woman goes without a hair covering and hijab on a Tehran commuter bus on Aug. 16, 2023. (Yalda Moaiery)*

This photograph might look as if it were pulled from a fashion magazine. But for people who know the recent history of Iran, it is astounding.

Many public spaces in Iran are segregated by gender, but public transportation is perhaps the most visible example: Women are forced to use the back of the bus. This woman, without a head covering, stands confidently at the front of that section, just behind the men. Two other women wearing the hijab stare at her with seeming disapproval — a reminder, perhaps, that not all women in Iran support the current defiance against the hijab laws.

On Sept. 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish Iranian woman visiting Tehran, was arrested for wearing a hijab that didn’t properly cover her hair. She was severely beaten by officers of Iran’s so-called morality police, sent to a notorious detention center and ultimately died of her wounds in custody.

What no one saw coming was Iranian women responding in large numbers, staging months of nationwide protests and rejecting the hijab entirely. Her death ignited an anger that has yet to subside.

This photo was taken by acclaimed Iranian photographer Yalda Moaiery a year after Amini’s killing. “I found it fascinating how calm and relaxed this woman was, despite not adhering to the government-mandated dress code,” Moaiery said. “It was as if she was living in a country where compulsory hijab had not been enforced for years!” It is one of the last photographs that Moaiery, who spent months in prison for covering the uprising, took before leaving Iran.

The events of Oct. 7 in Israel have brought Iran back to the world’s attention — for its ongoing support of Hezbollah and Hamas. Inside the Islamic republic, however, the state still considers Iranian women — not Israeli assassinations or U.S. sanctions — to be the biggest threat to its continued control of the country.

This week marks the two-year anniversary of Amini’s death. Iran’s new president will make his first appearance at the U.N. General Assembly next week. It is a moment to honor the country’s brave women and their struggle to build a more just future for their country.